A: You need to tell your credit card company that you want to allow transactions that go over your limit, according to the Federal Reserve.

If you opt-in to allowing transactions that take you over your credit limit, your credit card company can impose a fee. The Center for Responsible Lending advises consumers not to opt-in and if the credit card company pressures you to do so, consider whether you want to keep your account.

Louisville, Kentucky • Southern Indiana

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However you define this “new age of austerity,” the fact is that we have less to spend and are now redefining our standards of living. How we come to terms with new economic realities and our hopes that our children can realize a middle class lifestyle is an important conversation, one the Courier-Journal hopes to lead. Courier-Journal journalist Jere Downs reports, writes, and tracks down the information that all of us need to raise our standard of living. The granddaughter of an auto worker and a witness to the decline of the middle class in her native Detroit, Downs is a longtime business writer, and graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.• Contact Jere with story ideas or feedback